Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The invention relates to an assembly comprising a flexible container having an inner space in which liquid can be stored and a dosing device connected to the container for dispensing liquid from the container in a dosed manner, the dosing device comprising a filling chamber and at least one feed line system extending from the inner space of the container into the filling chamber, the feed line system comprising an inflow opening located in the inner space of the container and at least one outflow opening located in the filling chamber, enabling the filling chamber to be filled with the liquid from the container by squeezing the container, the filling chamber comprising a filling chamber bottom and at least one vertical sidewall which in combination bound an inner space of the filling chamber and the dosing device further comprising means for setting the filling height of the filling chamber.
The invention also relates to a dosing device of such assembly.
Such assembly is known inter alia from international patent application 9603625. The container can be filled with an antifreeze for windscreen wipers and other liquids intended to be dispensed in accurately predetermined quantities. In use, the flexible container is squeezed for this purpose. This will cause the filling chamber to be filled via a feed line system. When the squeezing of the container is subsequently ended, the container will return into its original shape again, while liquid will be sucked back from the filling chamber into the inner space of the container. However, when the liquid level in the filling chamber has dropped to the outflow opening of the feed line system, the feed line system will draw in air rather than liquid. Consequently, the filling chamber will be filled to a height corresponding to the height of the outflow opening of the feed line system. Next, the assembly can be placed upside down to cause the liquid to flow from the filling chamber. In this manner, a dosed quantity of liquid is dispensed.
For setting the filling height of the filling chamber, the feed line system of the known assembly is built up from two tubes which are telescopically interconnected. By moving an upper one of the two tubes up and down relative to the lower one, the height of the outflow opening of the upper tube can be set relative to a bottom of the filling chamber in a stepless fashion. Thus, the filling height of the filling chamber can be set in a stepless fashion.
A drawback of the known assembly is that setting the filling height by manually moving the upper line up and down relative to the lower line involves a great inaccuracy. Moreover, the setting operation often proceeds rather stiffly and jerkily, so that it takes relatively much time and effort to set the filling height in an accurate manner.
It is an object of the invention to overcome the above drawback and the invention is characterized in that the dosing device further comprises a base bottom connected to the container, the filling chamber bottom being mounted on the base bottom for displacement or translation relative to the base bottom, and that the feed line system comprises at least two separate pieces of line extending upwards from the filling chamber bottom, while the inflow opening can selectively be brought into fluid connection with one of the pieces of line by displacement or rotation of the filling chamber relative to the base bottom, an outflow opening of a first piece of line of the at least two pieces of line being located at a first height relative to the filling chamber bottom when the first piece of line is connected to the inflow opening and an outflow opening of a second piece of line of the at least two pieces of line being located at a second height relative to the filling chamber bottom when the second piece of line is connected to the inflow opening, and the first and second heights differing from each other.
As in accordance with the invention, the first and second heights are directly determined by the two pieces of line, the user knows precisely which quantifies of liquid will be dispensed in a dosed manner. In particular, the device comprises a large number of pieces of line which each have an outflow opening that, when the relevant piece of line is connected to the inflow opening, is located at a predetermined height relative to the filling chamber. In this manner, through selection of a piece of line, a corresponding, discrete quantity of liquid to be dispensed in a dosed manner can be set. Each piece of line can correspond to a predetermined quantity of liquid. The inaccuracy of the dosing device may be better than 1 per mille. As the pieces of line are separate from each other, the pieces of line and the filling chamber bottom can readily be manufactured from one piece by means of injection molding. The space of the filling chamber which, in use, is filled with liquid is determined by the vertical sidewall of the filling chamber. An advantage of the separate pieces of line is that they occupy relatively little space and that, in use, they are being flowed around entirely by the liquid. This means that a relatively large part of the inner space of the filling chamber can be filled with liquid.
In particular, the pieces of line have mutually different lengths and the outflow opening of the piece of line is located at an upper free end of the piece of line. This enables the entire piece of line to be properly aerated during the emptying of the piece of line, as a result of which little or not rest liquid stays behind. This prevents blockages. Preferably, the pieces of line are each of straight design and at least substantially vertically directed.
In particular, it further applies that the filling chamber has its top side provided with a top wall in which an outlet opening is provided. This construction has as an advantage that the entire filling chamber comprises no parts which move relative to each other and which are interconnected via a liquid seal. This prevents leakage. This also applies when the filling chamber empties via the outlet opening or is closed off by a closing cap.
A further drawback of the known device is that when the filling chamber is being filled by squeezing the container, there is the risk of the container being squeezed too long and too hard, as a consequence of which the filling chamber flows over. By squeezing the bottle too hard, an undesired quantity of liquid is dispensed by the filling chamber.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a solution to this drawback is provided as well. To that end, the assembly is provided with an outlet opening for dispensing liquid stored in the inner space and with closing means which close off the outlet opening when the filling height of the filling chamber exceeds a predetermined maximum value.
Accordingly, when the container is squeezed too hard, so that the filling chamber threatens to flow over, the closing means effect that the outlet opening is closed off. To this end, the closing means in particular comprise a floating element, the floating element being moved upwards by the liquid in the filling chamber when the filling height of the filling chamber exceeds the predetermined maximum value.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the floating element is of ball-shaped design and the floating element is located in the filling chamber, the outlet opening being provided at a top side of the filling chamber and the floating element closing off the outlet opening on an inside of the filling chamber when the filling height of the filling chamber exceeds the predetermined maximum value.